The invention relates to a dynamic road marking system for influencing a flow of traffic consisting of vehicles traveling over a roadway,
which road marking system comprises a plurality of road marking units, and
each one of the road marking units is provided with a light source for emitting light in the direction of a driver of one of the vehicles.
The invention further relates to a road segment comprising a first roadway and an adjoining second roadway,
at least two successive vehicles traveling over the first roadway, and at least one further vehicle traveling over the second roadway, and
at least the first roadway being provided with the road marking system.
The invention also relates to a system for marking roads comprising one or more road marking systems, a control system for the road marking systems and means for coupling the road marking systems to the control system.
Such road marking systems are used in traffic control systems for marking traffic routes for vehicles, such as roads for cars and other road users. One of the methods used by traffic planners in their attempts to reduce traffic jams is a so-called “tidal flow system”. In such a dynamic system, the direction of the traffic of multi-lane roads is changed for one or more lanes in accordance with the direction of the main flow of traffic. In an alternative embodiment, the number of lanes available to traffic moving in a specific direction is increased or reduced, dependent upon the amount of traffic. A problem with these methods relates to indicating, in a flexible manner, the direction of the desired flow of traffic for a specific lane, or to changing the arrangement of the traffic route in a flexible manner. Known means for indicating the desirable direction of the flow of traffic include signaling lights beside or above the traffic route.
Such road marking systems cannot only be used as dynamic road marking systems, they can also be given static applications. Static applications of road marking systems include the marking of parts of traffic routes (for example straight parts or bends) so as to control the direction of the traffic under certain weather conditions, for example during fog, rain, black ice, etc., and/or under certain light conditions, such as daylight, twilight, a low position of the sun, night, etc.
Road marking systems can be provided in a road surface of the traffic route but also beside and/or above the traffic route, for example on a crash barrier at the side of the traffic route.
A road marking system of the type mentioned in the opening paragraph is disclosed in WO 00/20691 (PHN17.533). In said document, a description is given of a system for creating marking lines in a road surface by means of light originating from suitable light sources provided in road marking units, said marking lines being visible at some distance from the vehicle and being perceived as full or interrupted marking lines. In the known road marking system it is achieved that a driver of a vehicle, for example a motorist or a truck driver who, from his vehicle, looks ahead at the traffic on the road and the markings in the road surface, observes at some distance that the light beams originating from the road marking units demonstrate a uniform overlap. The light originating from the road marking units is perceived as an imaginary full marking line under said conditions.
A drawback of the known road marking system resides in that said road marking system cannot be used to influence a flow of traffic consisting of vehicles traveling over a roadway.